How's This Routine?

I put together this routine based around my work schedule and how much time I have. It’s a combination of 2 days of circuit training, and 2 days of normal style lifting. I have done this type of circuit training before and it is without a doubt the most intense workout I’ve ever done. I’m gasping for air by the end and extremely sore the next day.

Monday- chest and tri’s. 3 times through the circuit, no rest between exercises, only rest between circuits to re-rack weights. 1st circuit- 6-8 reps, 2nd- 12-15, 3rd- 20-25.

Dumb-bell flat bench press
Incline fly
Incline bench press
Cable cross-overs
Smith Machine close grip bench
Dumb-bell skull crushers
Press-downs
Dips

Tuesday- legs. 3x- 10,8,6. (non circuit, 2 minute rest periods)
Leg extensions
Squats
Hack squats (feet high up for hamstrings)(last set, drop set)
Stiff legged deadlifts
Leg press calf raises

Wed- light cardio

Thursday and abs- shoulders (circuit, same as monday)
Clean and press
Seated lateral raises
Behind the neck military press (smith machine)
Upright row
Rear lateral raises
Bar-bell shrugs
Hanging leg raises
Reverse crunch

Friday- back and bi’s (same as tuesday)
Pull-ups
Bent-over barbell rows
Cable rows (last set drop set)
Deadlifts
Seated incline curls
Straight bar preacher curls

Saturday- light cardio and abs

Sunday- off

What are your goals with such a workout? It does seem a bit hardcore but if you have a solid diet It should be perfect. I wouldn’t do this while on a low-carbs diet tho.

2 things you might wanna check:

  • Leg day seems way smooth as opposed to chest/tri’s. Either add one or two moves like the leg curl or the lunge, OR perform 5 sets instead.

  • The only thing I hate about circuit training is that you are most likely never gonna improve on most of your lifts. I seriously doubt that you’re gonna be able to lift more than the bar on close-grip bench after pumping 20 to 25 incline presses, flies, and dumbell presses back-to-back. What i’d do is change the order of the lifts as frequently as possible.

Good luck !

Okay thanks so much for the help. I don’t mind adding some sets at all, so I’ll definitely do that. I agree with you about the circuit training. When you get to that last one, getting those reps seem impossible sometimes. I’m definitely not on a low carb diet for either days. 200 and up for circuit days. 300 for other lifting.

What do you think about this however, just to switch things up? Each week, I’ll switch which body parts will be circuits. That way, for example, monday would be a circuit of legs, and tuesday would be a normal chest. This way I could keep my muscles guessing, as well as improve on the lifts.

My goal is to lower my bodyfat without taking the same DRASTIC measures as some bodybuilders. At the same time put on some size.

[quote]
What do you think about this however, just to switch things up? Each week, I’ll switch which body parts will be circuits. That way, for example, monday would be a circuit of legs, and tuesday would be a normal chest. This way I could keep my muscles guessing, as well as improve on the lifts. [/quote]

Sounds good, it will shock your muscles. Keep in mind though that your lifts won’t go up very fast if at all, simply because when you constantly change routines, it’s hard to have strenght progression.

As far as trying to lower bodyfat WHILE adding size, don’t even go there bro. I don’t wanna turn this into a Rate my Physique thread, but you seem fairly lean to me already. Unless you have an unreal metabolism, don’t expect to lose any fat at all with 200 carbs a day. Even if you add more cardio, it will just cause your cortisol to sky rocket.

Focus on either bulking or leaning, attempting to do both is a huge waste of time and energy, unless you have perfectly tuned metabolism, diet, workout and supplementation plans.

thanks so much for the info. I guess in reality I just want to look like King Leonidas from 300. But he put on a lot of size. I know they had amazing lighting and make up helped him out, but he looked good. I’m not sure if my routine is conducive to a physique like that, what do you think?

And I don’t have an unreal metabolism, just a little above average. And one more thing! Do you think I should even bother doing cardio if the circuits are so cardiovascular in nature? Just steady-state?

No cardio at all. I’ll repeat something I heard from an high-level bodybuilder at my gym: There’s no such thing as a workout that “builds muscle” or “gets you lean”, it’s your effort and diet that matters. Your workout is fine, as long as you always give it your best shot and feed your body with what it needs to grow and keep going.

About Leonidas, he does have a fine frame. Looking at your pic (yeah this is a BS estimation, give zero credit to this) I’d say your bodyfat % isn’t much higher than his. You just need about 20-30 pounds of muscle. Right now, your goal should be to bulk up heavily, doesn’t matter if you pick up some fat really. When you have enough lean body mass, you’re gonna be ready to lean out and meet your goals.

Figure out the approximate amount of calories you’re gonna have to consume and eat smart.

http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=460331

I like this article. Someone is probably gonna give you links to diets from this site, I usually make my own so I can’t really suggest any of them.

Best of luck !

wow. that was a great article. I came up with about 4,608 calories in order to grow. Certainly not the amount I eat in a day, but lord knows it’s going to be fun eating that much. The only thing I’m a bit confused on is the days I rest, and since I’m not doing cardio, that’s 3 days, do I subtract calories from those days, because I’m not training? And also, should I stick with my normal supplements; glutamine, green tea, vitamin c, fish oil, and all that?